


Run

by when_you_know_you_know



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, from Barden to post-PP3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:01:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22253071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/when_you_know_you_know/pseuds/when_you_know_you_know
Summary: Chloe persuades Beca to go on a morning run with her, and it turns out Beca doesn't hate it as much as she thought she would. Here are a few of their runs over the years...
Relationships: Chloe Beale & Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	1. The First Run

With a wide yawn and a sniff, Beca shuffles her way through the lounge from the kitchen, fresh coffee in one hand and her phone in the other. Being up this early doesn’t suit her internally. She almost knocked on each bedroom door of The Bellas house on her way downstairs, just so her new housemates - her fellow Bellas, most of whom are also just starting in their Sophomore year of Barden University - would wake too. But she held back. It wasn’t their fault she’d woken up early because her phone had been on loud and a Facebook notification had pinged at 5am.

Beca lets out a yelp as her body collides with another, and a small squeal eminates from the individual she’s just bumped into. Her eyes lock with a pair of bright blue eyes, and Beca’s chest tightens slightly. Chloe.

She can’t describe why her body still reacts the way it does whenever she sees the redhead. Why her heart beats a little faster. Why her stomach appears to have butterflies racing around it. Why her palms get a little clammy. Why her mouth goes dry.

Something about Chloe gets to Beca in a way nothing and nobody else does. And nineteen year old Beca still doesn’t know how to make sense of it. Of any of it.

But while normally her mind becomes a bit fuzzy - overwhelmed by these feelings that shoot around her head while her body automatically reacts accordingly to those feelings - right now, Beca looks at Chloe in horror as a huge coffee stain now dons the front of Chloe’s pristine white workout vest from the right boob down.

“Shit.” Beca blurts, immediately stuffing her phone into her pyjama pocket, “Dude are you okay?”

Chloe just winces, forcing a smile onto her face before stepping quickly past Beca to head through to the kitchen. Beca follows in haste, not accustomed to being around Chloe while the woman is _silent_.

“I’m _so_ sorry.” Beca adds genuinely, having left her coffee mug on a small table by the front door. The coffee could wait.

“It’s okay, Beca.” Chloe replies, though her tone implies that not only is it not _reeeally_ okay, but that she’s also in a bit of pain.

Before Beca can say or do anything more that she would hope would help matters, she freezes, her jaw dropping open involuntarily. Her eyes land on the toned figure of Chloe Beale as the redhead tugs her workout vest from her body, dropping it to the floor of the kitchen before bending over to source a bag of peas from the bottom of the freezer. Beca imagines what the skin on the side of Chloe’s torso might feel like. Soft probably, if her own sides were anything to go by.

“You’re up early.”

The words snap Beca out of her daydream and the brunette clears her throat loudly. Chloe has stood up again and is now hissing slightly under her breath as she places the peas within the discarded workout vest, and pops the cool item on a red patch of skin just above her right breast.

“Uh, yeah.” Beca says, swiping her tongue across her bottom lip, “Jesse tagged me in a dumb movie post on Facebook and I forgot to turn my phone on silent last night so…I kinda woke up to that.”

Her words are slow while she watches Chloe attempt to cool the red patches on her burnt skin. She feels guilty. Not just because of the coffee, but because Chloe really isn’t having the best week.

Chloe’s family dog had died in the week. Her parents had taken ‘Bitsy’ to the vet to be put down and hadn’t told their daughter until afterwards. Chloe had been away at college. She’d never got the chance to say goodbye. And while Beca wouldn’t think twice about something like that - Chloe was devastated.

“Did I get it all?”

Again Beca snaps out of her thoughts, remembering all too clearly how upset Chloe had been this week. How horrible it was to hear her wailing from her bedroom. She blinks slowly at Chloe trying to work out what her co-captain means. Then she sees that Chloe is motioning to the red patches on her body. No, she hadn’t got it all. And the patch that she’d missed had Beca swallowing loudly.

“There’s a little bit you missed.” Beca replies and she looks up into Chloe’s eyes. They’re tired and bloodshot and Beca just knows Chloe will be putting all of this down to continued bad luck. “It’s a bit higher.”

Chloe lets out a little wince as she stretches, proving just how far she’s reaching, but it still isn’t enough.

“There?”

“Uh, no. Higher.”

One more wince, but Chloe is unable to reach, and lets out a heavy sigh of defeat. Beca watches as her friend holds out the bag of peas wrapped in her workout vest.

“Will you get it for me? Please?”

Beca swallows loudly. Normally Chloe would have a flirty grin and a twinkle in her eyes. Normally Chloe would definitely be able to reach but would pretend not to so she could garner the attention of the person she was flirting with. But Chloe is noticeably low. Noticeably un-twinkly.

So Beca clears her throat and begins slowly approaching the redhead, mumbling, “Uh, y-yeah of course.”

The vest feels cool to the touch thanks to the frozen peas within it, and Beca takes a deep breath as her eyes land on a particularly soft looking patch of red skin towards the back of Chloe’s side. A patch just above the line of Chloe’s sports bra. Freckles dotting amongst the skin. Freckles that Beca has never noticed Chloe having.

“Ready?” Beca prewarns, looking at the girl cautiously, awaiting permission to proceed, and Chloe nods quickly. So with one more deep breath Beca places the cold compress on the red skin, resulting in a low growl to come from the back Chloe’s throat.

“Sorryyyyy.” Beca winces while keeping her eyes on the task in hand, feeling worried as she continues to inflict discomfort on her friend. The friend she seems to have a connection with that neither of them dares to address. Yet.

Chloe doesn’t answer. Doesn’t even reassure Beca that it’s okay. And had Beca not be doing an ‘activity’ at that very moment, she would’ve mulled over the way Chloe didn’t reply to her apology. Chloe was still hurting after the passing of her dog, that much was obvious.

“So…you and Jesse huh?” the redhead asks, a hint of sadness to her tone that Beca mistakes for still feeling sad about her deceased family pet, “Things seem to be going well between you two?”

The question seems to hang in the air as Beca’s focus moves from the bag of peas she’s applying to Chloe’s burn, over to the redhead who is looking ahead of her at the lounge area.

“Yeah, well…” Beca begins, rooting for words that best describe how she’s feeling towards her boyfriend without being too over the top. Not that being over the top is Beca’s domain. That‘s more Chloe’s style of things. She looks back down at the peas she’s applying, “…he’s fun to be around. Challenges me to step out of my comfort zone. And I’ve never really had a boyfriend before so everything’s still pretty new. It’s…nice.”

Beca doesn’t notice Chloe’s body tense up at the information. Doesn’t notice the way Chloe’s breath catches in her throat.

“Boyfriend huh?” Chloe tries to say casually but her chest tightens at the thought of Beca and Jesse being _together_. An embarrassed grin pokes in the corners of Beca’s mouth but she doesn’t look up at her friend.

“Uh, yeah.”

Chloe notices the embarrassed grin and her heart sinks. Beca and Jesse are ‘official’. Bang goes any hope of perhaps getting closer to Beca. Of dripping notions into the younger woman’s mind that maybe just maybe she - Chloe - could be just the romantic interest Beca needs.

“So do you run every morning??” Beca asks, quickly wanting to change the subject. Because she’s just noticed the way Chloe hesitates at the mention of Jesse. And she begins to wonder if perhaps Chloe has a secret crush on Jesse.

“Yeah. It started with me, Aubrey, Shayleen, and Lauren - a couple of the old Bellas? Then they graduated leaving me and Aubrey last year, so we carried on doing a morning run-”

Beca stands mesmirised by the sound of Chloe’s voice. It’s the most she’s heard the woman say since finishing Freshman year back in June. They’d all moved into the Bellas house at the beginning of the week. Chloe had already been there, and received news of her dog _just_ as Beca had stepped through the front door.

“-and now it’s just me so…”

Beca feels Chloe step away from her, breaking contact with the cold compress, and the brunette watches as Chloe clears her throat and stretches a little. Chloe’s bright blue eyes peer back at her and for a moment Beca’s locked in her gaze.

“You probably never realised I run because you’re never up this early.” Chloe concludes helpfully, the tiniest hint of a smile on her face. “Fancy coming out with me now as you’re up?”

She’s joking. She doesn’t mean it in the slightest. She only asks out of obligation, almost as a thanks to her co-captain for icing her burns even though it _had_ been Beca’s fault in the first place. And it doesn’t surprise her in the slightest when Beca scrunches her nose up in response:

“Nah. Not my thing.”

Chloe gives a curt nod, having completely expected that to be Beca’s answer. But to her surprise, Beca adds after a pause:

“Though Jesse _does_ say I should ‘get out there’ more. Should do things out of my comfort zone..”

Beca seems to have no control over what she’s saying and panics a little internally. But her face remains calm. She throws the bag of peas on the work surface nearby, her expression lifting as she comes to her decision.

“You know what? Screw it! Let’s go for a run.”

Chloe’s eyebrows almost meet her hairline she’s so surprised and watches as Beca dashes out of the kitchen, having said something about going up to change into her Bellas rehearsal gear.

##  **\- Twenty Months Later -**

“Amy’s pushing the whole…swinging from the ceiling… _thing_ …when we perform for the President…in July…” Beca says with what little breath she has left.

May. The best time of year in Beca’s opinion. Not least of all because at 5.30am the light and temperature is just perfect for a morning run.

The brunette jogs at a fair pace beside her co-captain, while Chloe computes what Beca has just said and readies her response. This is their thing. A morning run, every morning. Opportunity to discuss Bellas rehearsals or routines or the latest fallout between one Bella and another in the house over some minor thing, such is the curse of an all-female household. Being co-captains means also essentially being co-parents.

But this jog every morning gives Beca and Chloe the chance to hang out together without interruption or drama from their friends. And what had started as a simple jog around the lake near their house almost two years ago, is now a faster jog around the lake, stopping three quarters of the way round to sit together by the lake and dip their feet in the cool water while they share a flask of iced coffee, a bagel, and a banana (winter snacks were different and there was never any ‘feet dipping’).

Both Beca and Chloe agree that the run together isn’t only good for their mental health but for the good of their close friendship and successful co-captaincy. They credit their bond to their daily routine of an early morning run together. And nobody opposes that fact. Not even Jesse - who Beca has been dating for almost two years now.

“Wouldn’t be the worst idea she’s had.” Chloe successfully breathes out in one go, having always been slightly fitter than Beca.

Beca grins, thinking back on terrible ideas that Amy’s had in the past. Each one of them Beca and Chloe had discussed in length about before deciding whether to go ahead with Amy’s idea or not. Most of the time they’d discussed them during a run.

With one final push the two best friends pick up their pace, the ‘finish line’ in sight as _their_ jetty comes into view. And they ease to a stop as they reach it, gasping for air with grins on their faces. Running with Beca makes Chloe better. Running with Chloe makes Beca better. And as they catch their breath, Beca and Chloe wander to the edge of their jetty with their hands on their hips.

“How did we do for time?” Beca forces out, wincing slightly thanks to the stitch Chloe had encouraged her to power through.

“Shaved four seconds off.” Chloe announces while looking at her watch.

“Nice.”

Beca slips her ‘camel bag’ from her back while Chloe does the same with her own - it being the only style of bag that suits their run and can fit their snacks in. They both sit at the edge of the jetty, tugging their sneakers and socks of. Sighs of relief fall from their mouths as their feet sweep into and through the surface of the lake water.

Dipping into their respective bags, ‘End Run Snacks’ (“ERS”) are tugged from within and Beca begins pouring some of the iced coffee into one of the two plastic cups she’s brought along. Chloe, meanwhile, pulls the bagel from within the small lunch bag she’d put it in and begins dividing it in two, swapping one half for a cup of iced coffee.

“So I was thinking about our road trip.” Chloe says, placing the plastic cup down so she can pluck a small bit of bagel from her half to put in her mouth, “I know you said you’ll pick me up from Mum‘s but…” she pauses to let out a tut as she spills a bit of coffee down her white vest top.

Beca sees it and grins affectionately at her best friend. There’s still something about Chloe that she can’t put her finger on. And she notes how pretty Chloe looks with strands of her long red hair pasted to her sweaty temple, most of it still successfully tied up.

“…I don’t think I’m gonna go home between finishing next month and us going on our road trip.”

Beca’s surprised by Chloe’s change of plan. She knows Chloe’s still struggling with the sudden separation her parents had gone through around Christmas time. And that Chloe was distraught when her mother had written to her to tell her that she and her father were getting a divorce. That they had only stayed together until their youngest child - Chloe’s little brother - had turned eighteen. But it was only a week between the end of the school year and them going on a road trip just the two of them. Things must be bad if Chloe couldn’t last that long at home.

“I’m just going to stay here at Barden if that’s ok? At least then it won’t be too far for you to drive to pick me up.”

Beca swallows a mouthful of bagel, still watching her best friend as Chloe looks out at the lake before them, the sunshine just high enough to reflect on the surface. This road trip had been Beca’s idea. Anything to get Chloe’s mind off her home life and their impending final year at college.

“Well, I’ll stay too.” Beca responds eventually with a shrug, looking out at the lake too, “Saves us putting our running streak at risk by having that week leading up apart, right?”

“Beca you don’t have to..” Chloe begins, turning her head and reaching out to rest her hand on Beca’s thigh, not thinking twice about the action that causes Beca’s cheeks to flush pink - something that _wasn’t_ a result of their run.

“No I-I want to. I’d only be home with Dad and Sheila anyway.”

“Oh yeah.” Chloe agrees, taking her hand back with a small amused smile, “The rule.”

‘The rule’ being no Bella being allowed to stay overnight at The Mitchell’s house after Fat Amy had accidentally smashed one of Sheila’s priceless vases during a spring break sleepover last year.

“It’s not the rule.” Beca assures, smiling kindly at Chloe, “Dad and Sheila like you. They tell me all the time.” a compliment that causes a warmth to spread through Chloe’s chest she’s so touched, “It’s that I’d rather be home with you actually _in our_ home, than being in their home with you. If that makes sense?”

Chloe nods, her smile broadening while she pulls the banana from her bag, peeling it and giving half to Beca. They sit in comfortable silence for a few moments, looking out at the lake. All until Chloe gets some courage:

“And Jesse would be okay with that? With you staying here instead of going back to his parents for the week?”

The question rattles in their ears. The simple answer would be ‘no’ and they both know it. Jesse has expressed how uncomfortable he feels with how close his girlfriend and Chloe have become over the years.

Chloe knows why. Beca doesn’t. Chloe accidentally let slip to a Treblemaker at a party last year that she had a crush on Beca. That Treblemaker got drunk and told Jesse. Jesse confronted Chloe. Chloe assured him she’d get over it, that it was just a silly little crush. Chloe lied. And Chloe can tell that Jesse knows it.

“He’ll be alright.” Beca says, waving her hand casually, but deep down she knows he won’t be. Because he’s expressed how uncomfortable he is seeing her and Chloe together. Whenever Beca asks why, he’s never able to come up with an answer - clearly too afraid of losing her if he does. So they argue a bit, then make up quickly. It’s been that way for a while now.

“I’ll be at his for the rest of the summer once we get back.” Beca adds, taking a good mouthful of her banana, missing the way Chloe’s expression falls. Chloe wishes Beca would spend the rest of the summer with her instead.

The two best friends sit on the edge of their jetty, finishing off their shared End Run Snacks, mentally preparing themselves for their ten minute wander back to the Bellas House. Back to reality.


	2. The Fifth Run (In A Row)

“Fifth day in a row.” Chloe says with relative ease, choosing to take a breath before and after her sentence, “You feeling alright?”

Beca lets out a light yelp as Chloe jabs her playfully in the side with her elbow, but a smile is on Beca’s face all the same as they continue running down the street near their college home. They’ve been out on a morning run together for five days in a row now, after Chloe had jokingly asked Beca if she wanted to join her, and Beca figured she’d give it a go.

Turns out Beca likes running. Turns out Beca likes running because of Chloe. Turns out Beca likes running _with_ Chloe.

“About the run…yes…” Beca breaths out, perfectly happy if that’s all that she says, and she tries not to focus on the fact that she runs out of breath way sooner than Chloe.

“But something else is going on?” Chloe asks, her brow knitting.

The question is a little more intrusive than Beca is used to. Had they been just sitting around the house or rehearsal room Beca would’ve just walked off or refused to divulge any personal information. But there’s something about being on a run, something about the fresh air, something about Chloe that makes Beca feel safe enough to share what’s going on inside.

“It’s Jesse.” she manages to force out with the little air she has left in her lungs and hopes they’ll be coming to a stop soon. Just so she can catch her breath. She’s so tired she misses the way Chloe’s face contorts into a hopeful expression.

“Oh?”

Because Chloe secretly hopes that things aren’t going so well between Beca and her new boyfriend. Chloe hopes that if Beca and Jesse might break up, her dream of one day becoming _Beca’s girlfriend_ can move that one step closer.

“Softball.” Is all Beca can muster, and to her relief, Chloe slows her run down until she comes to a stop. The redhead’s confused, watching Beca with a furrowed brow while the Sophomore bends over, gasping for air.

“Wh- _Softball_??” Chloe asks reaching up into the sky to stretch while shifting from side to side, not wanting to seize up in case they continue running.

“Yeah…Jesse wants me to be braver and…try new things…” Beca said, standing upright with a wince. She’s getting a stitch. “He wants me to try Softball at the weekend.”

“Oh” Chloe replies with a chuckle.

“That’s the last time I let him roam the activities fair unattended.” Beca grumbles.

The pair wander down the street in search of a nearby jetty that they seem to have stopped at after every run. Chloe tugs one of the two small runners bottles from her running belt, and hands it to Beca who takes it gratefully.

“So you’re gonna go?” Chloe asks when the silence has been a little too much for her and Beca breaks the seal her lips have around the bottle with a loud * _smack_ *.

“Well yeah, I have to.” Beca replies, holding the bottle out to Chloe who takes it and drinks some herself. They near the end of their chose jetty.

“Why?” Chloe asks, scrunching up her nose. Because nobody should have to do anything they didn’t want to do.

“Because I’m his girlfriend.” Beca says with a shrug, reaching the end of the jetty and sitting down on the edge, looking out at the lake before them. Chloe looks down at Beca while she pulls a small pack of nuts from one of the small pockets of her belt.

“You know, if you were _my_ girlfriend…” she says, getting down onto the jetty to sit beside her co-captain, “…I wouldn’t force you to do something you didn’t want to do.”

She waits with baited breath, wondering if Beca has put much thought in depth as to what she’s just said. Specifically the ‘girlfriend’ part. But Beca lets out a heavy sigh and it’s quickly apparent that she hasn’t:

“He’s not forcing me to do it. I _want_ to do it.” Beca pauses to pick out a few of her favourite nuts from the small packet Chloe offers to her, “I mean, he’s such a nice guy. I don’t want to let him down…”

“Buuuuut…?” Chloe helps, realising there’s more to this conversation than meets the eye. And she’s right. Because Beca grimaces slightly and looks up into her eyes.

“I kinda told him I played all through High School so didn’t need to go to a taster session,”

“And did you?!” Chloe asks in amazement.

“Of course not! I thought it’d just get me out of having to go!”

Chloe throws her head back and laughs loudly, much to Beca’s slight horror. The brunette reaches out and swats Chloe’s arm playfully.

“H-Heyyy it’s not funnyyy!” She says. But there’s amusement in her tone that matches the smile on her face, and soon Beca is chuckling too. “What the hell do I do?”

Chloe, whose laughter subsides, turns back to Beca with an affectionate smile, “You tell him the truth.”

“But…what if he breaks up with me?”

Chloe’s surprised to see such vulnerability in the prickly alt-girl. But she relishes in it all the same. After all, Beca doesn’t seem to show this side of herself very often.

“He won’t, Beca.” she reassures, placing her hand on her friend’s knee and is amazed that Beca doesn’t flinch or squirm away, “And if he does, then he’s an absolute dick!”

Beca’s mouth drops open at Chloe’s crude description, but marvels at it too. Only Chloe Beale would get away with saying such a mean thing in such a lovely way. The two co-captains turn back to look out at the lake before them.

“Thanks Chlo.” Beca says, nudging Chloe with her elbow, and the redhead turns to beam back at her.

“Any time!”

They share a grin, happy in one another’s company. _Calm_ in one another’s company. And as they both look out at the lake, they let out content sighs.

“We’ve gotta start bringing better snacks.” Beca says, finishing the last of the nuts, and Chloe hums in agreement.

“And more water.” The super-senior adds. Beca nods.

This year would be their first year as co-captains, starting with their first session on Monday. They were both a little nervous. But so long as they had each other, Beca and Chloe both believed they’d make it through.


	3. The Breakup Run

“Come on.”

Chloe’s reproach is stern. She’s never stern. Well… _rarely_ stern. But it’s got to the stage now where she can’t stand by and do nothing anymore. Beca needs some help.

She tugs firmly on the bedcovers, and looks at the body within the foldout bed. Beca tucks herself tighter into the foetal position and it takes Chloe a lot of self control not to just back down and allow her best friend another day of wallowing.

“Babe, come on, we’re going for a run.” Chloe says in a slightly softer tone. She’s tired. It’s been a long week.

Beca lets out a grunt of disapproval, turning her face into her pillow, and expresses an exhausted whine that’s muffled within the fabric.

“I don’t wanna.”

Six days. It’s been six days since Jesse broke up with Beca. Six days since the brunette crumbled. It had taken both her _and_ Chloe by surprise. Even Amy didn’t think he’d ever have it in him, even though she’d been saying for months that he and Beca weren’t much of a couple any more.

It wasn’t the breakup that surprised Chloe though. It was Beca’s _reaction_ to the whole ordeal.

Beca had cried hard for the first two days. Had sat in somber silence with her headphones on for days three and four. And for the past 48 hours Beca has been very very sleepy, choosing to lay tucked up in bed mostly with her pillow over her head to block out the world around her.

“It’ll make you feel better. You know it will.” Chloe says with strength to her voice. Because Beca _needs_ strength, Chloe knows it.

She perches on Beca’s side of the bed, bringing a hand out and sweeping her fingertips gently through the brunette’s unwashed hair. The touch causes Beca to flinch, but Chloe is persistent. She _knows_ Beca likes having her hair played with. She _knows_ it helps ease Beca’s anxiety at the end of stressful days. And as a result, with every sweep of those fingertips, Chloe watches patiently as her best friend’s body slowly relaxes from its balled position.

“It’s gonna be cold out.” Beca rightfully mumbles, and Chloe glances up and out of the window. The beginning of March isn’t the best running weather. But it certainly isn’t the worst.

“True.” Chloe agrees, looking down to see that Beca is peering up at her. Chloe notes her best friend’s sunken eyes and the dark shadows beneath them. Beca’s pale skin is paler than normal. And she smooths the fabric of the corner of her pillow between her fingers and thumb. It provides Chloe with a visual that she likens to interactions she has with one of her cousin’s children before. Except this time she’s interacting with the woman she’s had a huge crush on for years.

“But the fresh air will help clear your head.” Chloe eventually advises, causing a groan of protest to leave Beca’s mouth. A groan that quickly stops the second Chloe adds, “Plus I’ve packed a flask of hot coffee and a cinnamon swirl for our post-run snack?”

There appears to be something in that sentence that catches Beca’s attention, and the brunette slowly turns back to face Chloe, this time a little more straight-on.

“Cinnamon swirl?” Beca asks in a small voice, and on the inside Chloe’s dancing. She knew it. She _knew_ buying that cinnamon swirl was a wise decision.

“Uhuh. You’re favourite.”

“From…” Beca pauses to sit up slightly in bed, and Chloe practically melts when Beca rubs her eye sleepily, “…from Dan’s Bakery?”

“Uhuh.”

Beca has tried a cinnamon swirl from almost every bakery in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Dan’s Bakery in Brooklyn provides by far her most favourite. And with that knowledge in tow, Chloe was able to source the perfect bribe to hopefully tempt her best friend out of bed.

“Can’t we just skip the run and eat it now?” Beca croaks, blinking up at Chloe with an innocence that has Chloe’s heart warming. But she doesn’t back down.

“No, babe.” Chloe replies in a gentle tone, “We need to go on our run first.”

— Thirty Minutes Later —

Chloe has to hand it to Beca, for someone who has barely eaten in days, the woman is running beautifully with potentially her strongest endurance yet. The weather is brisk, as expected for the beginning of March, so both Beca and Chloe run together with red noses and red cheeks, neither wearing a hat as they both get too warm while running.

Chloe reaches out to grab Beca’s arm and pulls the woman to a gradual stop. She knows Beca can run further. _Beca_ knows she can run further. But the brunette doesn’t protest when they _do_ stop. She just looks at Chloe curiously, gasping to catch her breath.

“Come on.” Chloe says, having let go of Beca’s arm no sooner had they stopped, and she motions to a bench on a small patch of green next to them, “We can stop here for snacks.”

The two best friends slowly catch their breath, hands on their own hips while making their way over to the proposed bench. Beca waits to sit down, watching Chloe as the redhead pulls a slim plastic cover from her ‘camel bag’ and lays it out on the seat of the bench. It’s not very big and it requires the two of them to sit very close together to prevent either of them from getting a damp butt.

Once the coffee has been dealt out by Chloe and the cinnamon swirl expertly halved by Beca, the two best friends sit in comfortable silence, looking out at the cars ahead of them commuting into Manhattan. There’s still a knot in Beca’s stomach, but she doesn’t feel as tired or upset as she has been feeling this week.

“Thanks for making me run.” she mumbles, picking at the baked good in her hands, looking at each crumb as it falls away. Chloe is rummaging in her bag again but Beca continues, “I realise I’ve been shit company this week.”

Chloe pauses her rummaging and looks to Beca with a frown, “You’ve not been shit company.” Beca looks over at Chloe with an expression of disbelief but Chloe is steadfast, “Beca, having someone break up with you out of the blue is _the worst_! You’re more than entitled to act the way you have this week.”

Beca looks down at the baked good in her hand, placing a piece in her mouth with a small smile, “You’re too good to me.”

Chloe only responds by holding something out at Beca and the brunette sees it then looks to Chloe cautiously.

“You’re kidding.” Beca says in a deadpan tone, but Chloe is entirely serious.

“You’re gonna get a cold head.”

Beca rolls her eyes. Chloe had always been maternal towards The Bellas in College. She’d been the one with surplus bandaids and snack in her handbag. Had been everyone’s ‘emergency contact’ in case something bad had happened. Now, it seems, is no different.

So the brunette takes hold of the bright yellow knitted hat that Chloe hands her, and reluctantly stuffs it on her head. Her expression is steely when Chloe stifles a giggle at her appearance. Because Chloe quickly pulls a black knitted hat from her bag and puts it on her own head.

“Hold on…” Beca begins with a frown, and now Chloe is _really_ giggling. So much so that Beca finds her own expression cracking and before long she too is chuckling away. She doesn’t know why. She just is. And it feels like such an alien thing to do given how sad and low she’s been feeling this past week.

“Okay okay.” Chloe concedes, pulling the black hat from her head and handing it to Beca. They swap headgear, and once their hats have been placed on their heads, Beca and Chloe fall momentarily silent once again. Beca sipping from her coffee cup. Chloe picking at her half of the cinnamon swirl.

“Jesse’s a dick!” Chloe eventually blurts and Beca nods confidently.

“A _total_ dick.” she agrees. And in a way, it feels oddly good to finally be able to see that. The two best friends look at one another with soft smiles, enjoying the fact that they agree wholeheartedly on something. Then Chloe clears her throat:

“He’s crazy to have broken up with you.” she says, looking at Beca in sympathy, and Beca gives her a grateful purse-lipped grin in return.

“Yeah, well,” Beca begins, pausing to swipe some cinnamon swirl crumbs from her lap, not wanting to look into Chloe’s eyes for too long in case she reveals her deepest secrets telepathically, “he doesn’t matter any more.”

Chloe spends a lot of her spare time daydreaming about what it might be like to kiss her best friend. To be in a relationship with her. To be able to hold her tight and tell her during every waking minute just how in love with her she is. But Chloe knows that none of the above would be what Beca wants to hear, particularly not now and perhaps not ever.

So Chloe simply lets out a sharp sigh of content, then nudges Beca’s shoulder, “Race you home?”

Beca scrunches her nose up. For all the years that they’ve been running together, they’ve never once raced home. She wasn’t going to start now.

“Walk home at a leasurely pace, sharing my earbuds and listening to our playlist?” Chloe suggests as an alternative and she grins at Beca’s noticable change in expression. That’ll be the latter option then.

“Definitely the second option.” Beca confirmed, handing Chloe the coffee cup to return to her bag.

Minutes later and the two best friends were walking the three blocks home, an earbud each, listening to their shared Spotify playlist. Chloe tries and succeeds in not squealing when Beca curls her arm around hers so they stay close enough together to keep the earbuds in their respective ears. She could get used to this.


	4. The Airport Dash

“Beca!”

Beca doesn’t normally stop when her name is called out at the airport - it happens all too often now she’s a successful multi-million dollar, multi award winning recording artist. But she stops right now. And that’s because her name is called out in the most familiar of voices. The voice that causes Beca’s heart to jump into her throat while her chest tightens.

 _Chloe_.

Beca turns on spot to see her best friend dashing towards her. She notes the tears in Chloe’s eyes and suddenly Beca’s panicking. What has happened??

Beca doesn’t remember swinging her handbag at her assistant or stuffing her phone in her jacket pocket. Instead, all she knows is she’s making her way towards Chloe to shorten the redhead’s journey. And as they meet, Beca sees the way Chloe’s chest is rising and falling quickly. She must’ve ran through the airport to get to her.

“Dude are you okay?” Beca asks with a concerned expression on her face, but Chloe doesn’t really take the time to process the question.

“Is it true??” Chloe blurts, still heaving for air, “Is…is it true about…my college fund?”

Beca swallows loudly. Shit. Chloe had found out. Yesterday they’d been out on a pre-Thanksgiving Dinner run - Chloe’s mother having thought it a brilliant idea to invite Beca’s parents and Beca for the holiday celebration when Chloe had mentioned how she rarely saw Beca anymore. And on that run, the two best friends had chatted and laughed and raced and goofed around as though they were in their early twenties again not their early thirties.

“Beca, is it true you’ve been paying for me to go to Vet School?” Chloe asks more forcefully, and Beca begins to worry. She’d been assured by Chloe’s mother that Chloe would _never_ find out the true source of Chloe’s college fund. But clearly things have changed since Beca’s conversation with Sally Beale yesterday evening.

Because yes, it _is_ true. She’d given Chloe’s mother a huge sum of money a couple of years ago and had insisted that it pay for Chloe’s five year degree so that Chloe could graduate debt free. Her only stipulation has been that Chloe’s mother never tell Chloe where the money came from. Beca never wanted Chloe to know how she really felt about her. That she was secretly in love with her and wanted to provide for her even though it wasn’t her ‘duty’ to do so.

Chloe doesn’t look overly happy right now and it has Beca feeling more and more nervous by the second. See _this_ was why she hadn’t wanted Chloe knowing. Chloe getting upset only serves to make Beca upset, and Beca can’t _get_ upset right now. She has a flight to catch back to LA.

“How did you find out?” Beca eventually asks, because _that_ is the main question at the forefront of her mind. Not why Chloe has tears running down her cheeks and in her eyes. Not why Chloe is here right now instead of at home eating Thanksgiving leftovers.

“Mom’s drunk and blurted it out about an hour ago.” Chloe explains, and sniffs sharply, swiping at a pool of tears that are hanging from her chin.

“Drunk?” Beca asks with a furrowed brow, “Chloe it’s like 11am…”

But the brunette sees Chloe’s eyebrows rise with impatience and Beca remembers that there are more important things to be addressing at this very moment instead of Chloe’s mother’s apparent alcoholism.

“Yeah. It’s true.” Beca says after a few moments of toying with denying it. But she can’t lie to Chloe. She can never lie to Chloe (other than omitting the truth that she has a raging toner for the woman).

But before she can say anything more or explain why she’s done it, Beca let’s out a small yelp as Chloe throws her arms around her body and pulls her into a tight hug. With eyes squeezed closed and smiles on their faces, Beca and Chloe enjoy this rare moment of platonic intimacy.

“You‘re too nice to me.” Chloe mumbles into Beca’s neck, not caring for one moment that they are stood in public like this. As though they were lovers being separated. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“Me?” Beca replies with a chuckle, still keeping her arms wrapped around Chloe’s waist and her eyes closed, “Dude, I always wonder what I did to deserve _you_!”

Beca feels Chloe loosen her grip, and she loosens her grip too. But arms remain around each other as they lean back to look at one another affectionately.

“I guess we’re both lucky then.” Chloe muses with a soft smile on her face, and Beca just hums in agreement.

Something hangs in the air around them. Something indescribable. Something unspoken. And were they not in the middle of a busy airport, and perhaps if they were sharing an alcoholic drink or two, Beca and Chloe might have begun to delve a little deeper into why they are looking at each other the way they are right now. They might have talked about yesterday’s run and that moment they shared on the playground near Chloe’s house. They might have talked about why Beca had snuck into Chloe’s bedroom overnight so they could share a bed again like they once had. They might have talked about why neither of them had minded sleeping tucked up together in their underwear despite the overnight chill.

But there‘a no time. There’s never any time. So as the tannoy rings out requesting passengers on Beca’s flight to board, the brunette lets out a heavy sigh, letting go of Chloe completely while her best friend does the same in return.

“I’d better go.” Beca concedes with an apologetic expression, and Chloe simply nods.

“Yeah. Me too.”

They both hesitate, looking at one another longingly. It wouldn’t take much for one of them to step forward and kiss the other on the lips. But they don’t. Because they’re just really really _really_ close friends. And Beca is a really really _really_ successful recording artist. Any form of public act will be recorded by someone. Hell, someone probably recorded their hug just now.

Now wasn’t the time to be taking steps into unchartered territory with each other in public. Perhaps they could do it in private one day.

“I’ll miss you.” Beca mumbles honestly. She always misses Chloe.

“I’ll miss you too.” Chloe replies, “Text me when you get back to LA?”

Beca begins stepping backwards, a dreamy smile on her face while she carries her hand luggage on her shoulder, “I can video call you if you like?”

She sees the way Chloe’s eyes light up and it sets her heart racing. Because this was kinda the exchange that lovers had when they were parting ways. And the thought of being in a relationship with Chloe excited Beca - even if it wasn’t the truth.

“Definitely!!” Chloe squeaked with an excitable smile.

“Cool. I’ll um…I’ll see you through my phone then.”

“See you through your phone.” Chloe adds sweetly.

Beca takes one last long look at the redhead with a content smile on her face, then with a sigh, turns on the spot and heads for her departure gate. Chloe doesn’t move until she’s seen Beca disappear from sight. And her smile doesn’t fade once. Not when Beca glances over her shoulder at her and waves before heading through the gate. Not when Chloe wanders back through the airport to her car. Not the whole journey back home. And not even once she’s home and staring at her bedroom ceiling.

Chloe is still mad about Beca. And in the past couple of days she’s come to suspect that Beca is almost as mad about her too. It makes Chloe VERY happy.


	5. The Beverly Hill Run

A long rattling giggle falls from Beca’s mouth, allowing her feet to pick up speed as she follows Chloe down a small steep section of the hill they are busy running up. Living in LA sucks from time to time. But here is a rare occasion when Beca can get out of the weird bubble of being a celebrity and get back to basics: being on a run with Chloe.

The redhead lets out a small yelp as Beca’s body collides with hers, and quickly giggles before racing off ahead of her best friend once again. It’s been almost ten months since they’ve last seen each other. And a lot has happened since then.

“Hey!” Beca barks out with a grin. She’s getting breathless and they’re barely halfway up the hill that lays among others just outside of LA. Chloe doesn’t stop, instead choosing to turn on the spot and jog backwards slightly slower while looking at Beca with a grin.

“Come on!” Beca adds with little breath, slowing down with each stride, grabbing her side, “I gotta stop for a minute!”

“You really think I believe you after you pulled the same stunt earlier?” Chloe calls back, a competitive tone to her voice. But Beca isn’t pretending like she had done earlier just so she could get ahead of Chloe. This time Beca really does have a stitch.

“I’m definitely serious this time, Beale.”

She doesn’t _think_ she says or does anything that would concern Chloe, but after a couple of moments the redhead’s grin loosens slightly and she joins Beca once again. Beca smiles gratefully, muttering something about a stitch. Then the two best friends hobble over to a fallen tree, scrambling up onto its trunk together.

The silence between them is comfortable, and while Beca rifles through her camel-back bag, Chloe peels her own from her own back with an amused expression.

“I can’t believe you still have that bag.” Chloe says, an affectionate smile on her face, and Beca pauses her efforts to look up at the redhead seriously.

“It’s a good bag.” she says before delving back into the bag in question.

“Yeah but…” Chloe begins, pausing while pulling a flask of iced coffee from her own bag, “…you’re a multi-millionaire! I’m sure there’s a million _good bags_ in the world. _Multi_ -millions!”

Beca understands why Chloe would say that. It is no secret among friends, family, or the world that Beca is one of the most famous most successful people on the planet right now. And with fame and success came money. A _lot_ of money. More money then Beca could’ve ever dreamt of in her whole previous life before shooting to fame several years ago.

“This bag is dependable, Chlo.” Beca says as she pulls out an exceedingly good bagel, a perfectly ripened banana, and a small packet of nuts. She also has a twix in the bag, just in case a sugar fix is required, though she fears it has already melted in the Californian sun. “I’m not gonna chuck something that makes me feel so comfortable just because I now have the money to get a new one.”

Chloe just hums in agreement, handing Beca a small cup of iced tea while accepting half of the bagel. Then they both look out at the valley before them, letting out content sighs while they sip their respective tea and nibble on their respective bits of bagel.

“Listen, I’m sorry about everything that’s happened this past year.” Beca eventually says nervously, “I know it had been hard enough with college finals to prepare for and take without having to worry about the paparazzi hunting you down.”

Following their long hug at the airport last Thanksgiving - the risk of which being that people may mistake them for ‘secretly’ dating - a couple of paparazzi had seen and photographed Beca and Chloe’s embrace. By the end of the day, celebrity news across the world was all about Beca Mitchell and her mysterious red-haired girlfriend. And within a week Chloe had become hounded by photographers who had found out where she was studying to become a vet.

In order to keep a control over things, Beca had flown in added security to work on the college campus, as well as distant security for Chloe, and a restraining order on not one, not two, but _three_ photographers who Chloe claimed had got too close on all too many occasions. But above all things Beca had felt guilty about, it was that she couldn’t be there for Chloe when Chloe had clearly needed her in person - her stupid contract anchoring her down to LA. And whenever she’d called Chloe to apologise, the redhead had admitted that Beca’s appearance on her campus probably wouldn’t make things better but rather stoke the fire.

So the two best friends who had once lived together prior to Beca’s incredible career, then had seen each other at least once a month shortly after that, had gone ten months without seeing each other - their longest stint yet. And it has made them both miserable.

“S’okay.” Chloe says with a kind smile that matches the tone of her voice, “I still qualified.”

It hadn’t been easy, but yes Chloe had still qualified. She is now a fully qualified vet, and is due to start work at a top clinic in LA. This run is her and Beca’s way of not only finally reuniting away from the beady eyes of the paparazzi, but to also celebrate Chloe’s recent move to the city.

“Besides,” Chloe says, still looking out at the view but not bothering about her pulled apart bagel, “it‘s been nice to be thought of as your girlfriend… _Well_ ,” she quickly says, and Beca - who was looking at her anyway - stares a bit harder as Chloe adds, “not the ‘being chased by paparazzi’ bit. But then I guess if that’s the only downside to being your girlfriend, it’s worth it.”

Chloe finishes the sentence with a chuckle, but Beca remains silent and stunned. Chloe was okay with the idea of being her girlfriend?? And Beca’s mind begins drifting, imagining scenarios where she and Chloe were dating. Attending award ceremonies together; Beca thanking her when receiving awards; getting to come home to each other after a busy day and falling into each other’s arms, kissing passionately…

“Will you?” Beca blurts, and Chloe blinks a couple of times before looking over at her best friend.

“Huh?”

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

Beca watches as Chloe hesitates and while she initially worries that it’s because Chloe _won’t_ be her girlfriend, as the silence between them continues Beca realises Chloe’s hesitation could be due to her wondering if Beca is actually joking. Because this would be a huge deal if they were to go ahead with pursuing a romance. A huge deal for the two of them. A huge deal for their friends and family. A huge deal for the paparazzi and Beca’s fans.

“I know it sounds daunting, and-and it still won’t do your privacy any favours, in fact it’ll probably make things worse, and ugh actually it’ll ruin your life and you’ll end up resenting me and then we’ll break up and never talk again and…you know what? Forget I even said anything! I’m just being an asshole!”

Beca’s sweating, and _not_ because of the run. Her half of the bagel has turned into crumbs such is her anxious picking of the food in her hands. And she peers with worry at her best friend. Her best friend who doesn’t seem to be smiling, but also doesn’t seem to be frowning. Chloe looks nervous and calm all rolled into one. And for once in her life Beca consciously realises she has no clue what Chloe is thinking.

So imagine Beca’s surprise when she watches Chloe glance down fleetingly at her lips, then back up to her eyes, before slowly slowly leaning her face towards hers. There’s a moments pause as they both take one final glance down at each other’s lips before their eyes flutter closed. Then with a short sharp intake of breath, they gently kiss.

A sweet soft kiss which lingers for a few moments, before quietly breaking. And as Chloe slowly leans back, she bites her bottom lip as Beca’s eyelids take a couple of extra moments to flutter open. And when they do, the brunette’s breath tumbles from her mouth as she locks eyes with her best friend.

“Uh…” Beca begins with a croak, pausing to clear her throat before continuing, “…so is that an - um - yes?”

And a calm amused smile spreads on Chloe’s face, “Did it feel like a ‘no’?”

Beca’s face contorts slightly, and she still picks at the crumbs of her bagel, “No it um…I’m just really bad at reading situations.”

“Even though I just kissed you. On the lips. For like, a handful of slow seconds.” Chloe replies, her tone implying that she could giggle at any second.

Beca clears her throat again, and with all seriousness raises her eyebrows:

“I’m a very oblivious person.”

“Mmm.” Chloe agrees, nodding gently as she looks back out at the view before them, her cheeks slightly flushed with the excitement of it all. And Beca follows her gaze, a warmth in her chest as her heart beats happily. Chloe just kissed her!

“That was me saying yes by the way.” Chloe quickly added, turning to Beca with a slightly concerned expression which conveyed worry that Beca hadn’t realised. But Beca simply smiled.

“Yeah, I know.”


End file.
